I have selected four major Reformation-era theological traditions: Lutheran, Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Anglican. The actual documents which I will be working with are:
- Lutheran: Augsburg Confession and Luther's Smaller Catechism
- Continental Reformed: Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism (two of the Three Forms of Unity1)
- Presbyterian: Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger Catechism
- Anglican: The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion
Each of these confessional documents is still in use in modern churches. In some cases they even remain confessional standards in a mainline denomination, even if they are not the only confessional standard. For example, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) uses both the Westminster Standards and the modern Confession of 1967. Similarly, the Reformed Church in American uses both the Three Forms of Unity and the modern Belhar Confession (1982).
There are plenty of other Reformation-era confessions (an ongoing comprehensive collection includes 68 just between the years 1523 and 1566), but these 7 documents are those which have had a lasting legacy since their composition and continue to have importance in modern Protestantism. We will make occasional reference to other confessions when it is of historical or theological interest. Perhaps foremost among these will be the Roman Catechism and the Council of Trent which produced it. The Council of Trent was convened by Pope Paul III to give a Catholic answer to the Reformers and exemplifies Catholic doctrine at the time, providing a great contrast to the confessions we will look at.
I'll work through the confessions sequentially and systematically, discussing various topics relevant to each article or question: theology, history, modern reception and developments, controversies, &c. I hope to post at least one entry per week for each of the four traditions. The format is certain to shift a bit during the first few weeks as I establish a style.
The weekly frequency was inspired by the Heidelberg Catechism, which is divided into 52 sections, corresponding to the 52 Lord's Days of the calendar year. So that one will definitely be geared towards weekly posts. We'll see how well I keep up that pace as time progresses!...
The first two posts, however, will start with the two so-called ecumenical creeds: the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. These two creeds (along with the Athanasian Creed) have been adopted by virtually every Christian denomination as an authoritative summary of the Christian faith. As such, they form a basic foundation for the confessions of the Reformation and were never seriously disputed by the Reformers. Because they are universally accepted and interpreted, they similarly make for a good foundation for our discussion.
Thereafter, I'll offer introductory essays which will give an overview of the individual theological traditions, as well as the historical backgrounds which led to the composition of each confessional document. And then we'll be ready to dive into the documents themselves!
Enjoy!
1 The third of the Three Forms of Unity is the Canons of Dort, which I may touch on from time to time.
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